Staff / Samantha M. Shal / Crossroads Community Ministries volunteer Angela Niemann, right, waits as a guest signs for a package. Crossroads provides its clients with an address so they can get mail, state IDs and other necessities.

More than 800 women and 555 children — many of young age — came through Crossroads Community Ministries in Midtown last year seeking assistance to combat homelessness, said Executive Director Stan Dawson.

With the Cathedral Antiques Show and Tour of Homes in Buckhead selecting Crossroads as its beneficiary this year, Dawson is hoping the proceeds from the event will help even more mothers and children.

“The Cathedral Antiques Show is going to help us to strengthen [our housing assistance program] in fashions we never dreamed possible before, and more importantly, it’s going to absolutely end homelessness for mothers and some children,” he said.

Peggy Ballard, a spokeswoman for the event, said the general goal is to raise $150,000 for the beneficiary that is selected each year, but that figure is often surpassed.

“Last year we raised $285,000 for Refugee Family Services,” she said. “The year before, it was actually a little bit more.”

The housing assistance program for women and children is just one of the services Crossroads provides for the homeless in metro Atlanta. The nonprofit also serves hot meals six days a week, assists chronically homeless and disabled men with housing, provides clients with a permanent address and helps individuals acquire their birth certificates and Georgia state identification cards, which are essential in ending homelessness, Dawson said.

“Without legal ID, you cannot be employed by any kind of a reputable company. You cannot get housing in any sort of reputable housing. You cannot even get your prescription meds,” he said.

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